Writing in the Genres of the Web
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Writing in the Genres of the Web Do you have a blog? Do you contribute to a fan wiki about your favor- ite TV show, movie, or book series? Do you tweet? If you do, you may be thinking I don’t need no stinkin’ style manual. But wait!!!! Maybe, just maybe, you will find some advice about improving your blog or managing your wiki useful. And if the above paragraph is Greek to you, you will find an intro- duction to some of the genres of the web helpful. The web is not a blank piece of (virtual) paper waiting to be filled with content! It is a network of communities, each of which has its own expectations, its own values, and its own strategies for success. In this first section, we examine some of these communities and their preferred genres. In addition, because the web is a big community in itself, you should also be thinking about how you can promote your writing in the greater community of the web. To help you, we have included sections on using Reddit, Digg, Facebook, and RSS feeds to promote your writing and manage your reading. What Is a Blog? What about Tumblr? What about Twitter? Are “Notes” on Facebook the Same as a Blog? I am confused. Are all these things blogs? It’s complicated. In some senses, yes—all of these writing spaces could be described as blogs, which blend opinion, news aggregation (posting links to news articles or columns), embedded images, video, and, and, and . and they allow readers to comment. But following some definitions, not all of these spaces would be called blogs. In their most typical form, blogs are easily updatable sites that collect a series of posts in reverse chronological order (i.e. newest post first at the top of the page), allow comments, and are often orga- 6 Genres of the Web 7 nized by tags. (Notice the wording there: a blog is made up of multiple posts, not multiple blogs as folks new to the word sometimes claim.) Even though a Twitter feed or Facebook Notes page may fit many of these traits, if you said, “Hey, you should check out the new post on my blog,” the listener is most likely to think that you are talking about a site created on Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad, or another site like it, not a section of your Facebook profile. More on that below. The presence of comments is crucial to blogging. Comments make blogs a social, often conversational form of writing, so you should en- able the comment feature of your blog. Having comments builds ethos. Figure 1. Writing professor Steve Krause’s blog. Note how user comments are featured as an important part of the site on the right hand side. But be mindful of comments, especially if anyone can post one (such as someone that does not have an account) because it may dam- age your ethos if those comments are not monitored, are completely off topic, or spam. Spammers and their spam bots are always coming 8 Web Writing Style Guide up with clever ways to get their seedy casino and male enhancement products out there, and they’ll often try to mimic real people. If you see a comment that says “Great post!” and has a link to a casino site, delete it quickly. Otherwise, real people may see it and think you don’t pay attention to your comments. (So why should they bother posting? Who Writes and Reads Blogs? Blogs are often written by one person, but they can be written by two writers, a team of people, or even a whole community of contribu- tors (for example, the popular community blogging site Metafilter has about 50,000 members). The cost of a blog may be underwritten by the writer (no lunch is ever free) and placed on a free blog hosting site such as Blogger, Twitter, WordPress.com, or within a corpora- tion’s main web site. The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Mashable, and magazines like Spin have blogs and people assigned to writing entries for them. At the same time, many people blog for themselves such as those using the easy-to-publish site Tumblr or those who download the open source version of WordPress and install it on their own server. If you write on the Internet, you may have a particular audience in mind, but there will be untold numbers of second- and third-level audiences. And generally, all will have the ability to comment on your blog posts. But You Didn’t Answer the Bit about Facebook Notes Ahh, Facebook. As you know, Facebook, is a social networking site— a virtual space that walls off “friends” from the rest of the Internet. Only those who you have “friended” will see your Facebook Notes unless you designate that the entire universe of Facebook “users” can read your Notes. In this respect, Notes are much like Internet blogs. Is it wise to allow all Facebook users the ability to read your Notes? As with all Internet writing, it depends on what you post, and what you want others to read. Therefore, be sure to read how to safeguard your privacy on Facebook, just as you would for any other kind of Internet activity. Facebook Notes are great so long as you are primarily interested in your friends seeing them and not worried about keeping your Notes private. One big advantage they have is that since everyone is already Genres of the Web 9 on Facebook, you might get a lot more of your friends reading your Notes than you would if you posted them on Twitter or a blog. The downside is that people who are not on Facebook (or not your friends on it) won’t be able to see your Notes, and search engines won’t help people find your writing. It’s a trade-off. Figure 2. Dennis Baron’s Facebook Notes. Facebook Notes are very similar to blogs, but are primarily intended to be read by friends on Facebook. My Blog Sucks. Can You Please Help? There are millions of blogs. What will make mine stand out? Know why you’re writing and who you’re writing it for. Although the stereotypical blog consists of a Rebecca Black-like ramblings of uninteresting personal events, there are also plenty of respected and thoughtful blogs out there on every topic imaginable. There are also bloggers who are paid by companies to blog about their products or services, as well as bloggers who work for professional news organi- zations. Most bloggers cultivate audiences by showcasing their per- sonalities and opinions. Even blogs about the latest gadgets, such as Engadget, are frequently humorous and irreverent, making them 10 Web Writing Style Guide enjoyable even for people who don’t care about the gadget or device they’re writing about. If you want to make your blog standout, take strong positions on a particular subject or theme and write in a colorful, fun way. The more fun you have writing your blog, the more likely it is that others will have fun reading it. For instance, if you’re a wedding photographer, you can blog about the weddings you attend and the inevitable funny incidents that ensue at each one. Combined with some funny photos and witty writing, this could easily become a popular blog. If you’re heavily into a sport, such as parkour or racquetball, you can keep a blog about local events and the people you meet there. If you’re work- ing the tech support desk at your university, you can blog about un- usual incidents and talk about how you fixed them (or why you failed to fix them). What Not to Write About on Your Weblog Keep in mind that sometimes prospective employers or your boss might do a search to see what they can dig up about you. Even if you are post- ing something just for your friends, a group you belong to, or to ex- press yourself, remember that other audiences can potentially see what you write. Some of those people might have the power to hire you—or to put your application in the discard pile. Heather Armstrong is a blogger who was famously fired from her job for snarky comments she made about co-workers on her blog. Now she runs dooce, a popular mommy blogging site, and is laughing all the way to the bank. Don’t get fired posting things that make you or your company look bad. Don’t use your blog to vent about your crappy job or stupid boss. You may assume the people you insult won’t ever see your blog, but don’t count on it. If you’re not sure how someone you’re talking about will respond to what you post, it’s probably best to leave out the names and keep revealing details vague. You might work at Wal-Mart and enjoy making fun of the weird customers you see in your store, but if your supervisor sees it, you’ll be blogging for a living. You Are Now a Part of the Blogosphere When first starting your weblog, you’ll have to develop your credibil- ity and personality to attract readers. One way to do this is to use the writing by other influential and widely read bloggers as “research” and Genres of the Web 11 “sources” in your posts. Provide direct links in your posts to those oth- er bloggers’ blogs.